Mexico Threatens Google with Legal Action Over ‘Gulf of America’ Name
Charlie Kirk Staff
02/13/2025

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that her government is considering legal action against Google after the company renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on Google Maps.
“We are going to wait. We are already seeing, observing what this would mean from the perspective of legal advice, but we hope that they will make a revision,” Sheinbaum said, according to Reuters.
The change follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, directing the name change. Google stated that users in the United States will now see “Gulf of America” on the map, while users outside the U.S. and Mexico will see both names.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory,” Trump said Tuesday. “The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate.”
Sheinbaum criticized the move, arguing that the Gulf of Mexico’s name has long been recognized internationally.
“All we are asking of Google is to look at the decree that the White House released and that President Donald Trump signed. You’ll see in that decree that it does not refer to the whole gulf,” she said.
“If necessary, we will file a civil suit,” she added. “Our legal area is already looking into what that would mean, but we hope that (Google) reconsiders.”
In addition to Google’s update, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed it is updating its systems to reflect the change. The FAA also announced a name revision for Alaska’s Denali, which will revert to its former name, Mount McKinley.
“Please be advised that the FAA is in the process of updating our data and charts to show a name change from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and a name change from Denali to Mount McKinley. This will be targeted for the next publication cycle,” the agency said in a notice.